The UK privacy watchdog is considering the launch of a new investigation into Google over the way its Street View cars secretly gathered personal information from WiFi networks.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which oversees enforcement of the Data Protection Act, confirmed that it was studying a recent report by its US counterpart, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Published last month, the FCC report appeared to contradict Google's claims that it had inadvertently harvested personal data, such as email addresses and photographs, in the Street View project.

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The FCC said that a Google engineer, not named but understood to called Marius Milner, had created special software that could "collect, store and review payload data for possible use in other Google projects".

In 2009 and 2010, the software is said to have been used to intercept information from unsecured WiFi networks as the Street View car passed nearly all homes in Britain.

Milner, a 41-year-old British wireless networking specialist based in San Francisco, refused to co-operate in the FCC investigation, citing his right to avoid self-incrimination.

Google previously said that he had worked without knowledge of authorisation of his bosses, but the regulator found that Milner had told at least two other members of the Street View team about the software, including a senior manager, and warned that there could be potential privacy concerns.

The ICO conducted its own investigation into Google's Street View project after the potential privacy concerns surfaced in 2010. But the watchdog accepted the US firm's assurances that it had been a mistake and controls would be stiffened in future.

The response was criticised by privacy campaigners at the time as not going far enough.

In a statement today, a spokesman for the ICO said: "We are currently studying the FCC report to consider what further action, if any, needs to be taken.

"Google provided our office with a formal undertaking in November 2010 about their future conduct, following their failure in relation to the collection of WiFi data by their Street View cars.

"This included a provision for the ICO to audit Google's privacy practices. The audit was published in August 2011 and we will be following up on it later this year, to ensure our recommendations have been put in place."